R  E  F  O  R  T 


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OINT    COMMITTEE 


STATE   PRTSOlSr. 


//v  SACRAMRNTO: 

[S  .J^'r        1>.     VV.     (i  15  I,  W  I  C  KS,     STATE     PRINTER 

A  6  18  6  8. 


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REPORT 


JOi:^T    COMMITTEE 


ST_A.TE  PRTSON^. 


D.    W.    GELWIOKS STATE   PRINTER. 


REPORT. 


To  the  Hon.  the  Assembly  of  California : 

Mr.  Speaker  :  The  undersigned  Committees  on  State  Prison  beg 
leave  to  report  that,  in  pursuance  of  the  duty  assigned  them,  they  have 
visited  the  prison  and  made  an  examination  of  its  condition. 

In  the  pursuit  of  their  investigations,  several  witnesses  were  sworn  and 
examined,  both  at  the  prison  and  at  San  Francisco,  and  your  committee 
submit  the  conclusions  herein  as  founded  upon  the  facts  elicited  by  such 
examinations. 

Your  Committee  had  under  investigation  the  various  charges  of  specula- 
tion alleged  by  common  rumor  against  the  Warden  and  Commissary  of  the 
prison.  They  found  no  evidence  to  sustain  such  charges,  and  the  facts 
show  that  whatever  fault  is  to  be  found  with  the  management  at  the 
prison  is  really  with  the  system,  and  not  with  the  officers.  The  buildings 
are  not  adapted  to  (he  classification,  and  at  the  same  time  the  safe 
keeping  of  prisoners.  The  workshops  are  miserable  structures,  with  no 
advantages  for  the  economical  employment  of  prison  labor.  There  is  not 
the  necessary  supply  of  water  for  manufacturing  purposes  and  the 
proper  cleansing  of  the  cells  and  grounds  of  the  prison.  The  prisoners 
are  not  properly  fed.  The  diet  should  be  more  varied — the  ration  fixed 
and  established  by  law.  And  the  cooking  department  or  kitchen  should 
be  under  the  direction  of  a  free  man,  instead  of  a  convict  as  at  present. 

Flogging  should  be  abolished,  and  the  discipline  prescribed  and  made 
absolute  by  law.  The  tannery  should  be  removed  from  its  present  loca- 
tion;  in  the  crowded  state  of  the  prison  yard  it  amounts  to  a  nuisance. 
Supplies  for  the  prison  should  be  purchased  by  contract,  open  to  all 
bidders  by  advertisement.  There  should  be  a  resident  Chaplain  at  the 
prison. 

Upon  the  question  of  the  erection  of  a  branch  prison,  your  Committee 
express  the  opinion  that  the  State  must  of  necessity,  within  a  few  years, 
prepare  for  the  erection  of  such  a  building,  and  it  is  important  when  pro- 
jected that  the  serious  mistakes  made  in  the  building  of  the  present 
prison  buildings  should  be  avoided.  The  two  brick  buildings  erected 
during  thef  years  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-four  and  eighteen  hundred 
and  sixty-five,  to  meet  the  urgent  necessity  of  increased  cell  room,  are 
but  poorly  adapted  to  the  safe  keeping  of  prisoners.     The  testimony  of 


officers  of  the  prison  is  unanimous  to  the  effect  that  these  buildings  are 
constructed  of  such  materials  as  to  afford  no  security  for  confining  the 
large  number  of  hardened  criminals  under  their  charge,  necessitating  the 
confining  of  this  class  entirely  in  the  old  building  or  stone  prison.  This 
building  contains  forty-eight  cells  and  seven  large  rooms,  and  in  these 
apartments  are  confined  three  hundred  and  eighty-four  of  the  whole 
number  of  prisoners.  The  seven  rooms  mentioned  each  contain  thirty  or 
forty  prisoners,  while  the  two  brick  prisons,  containing  three  hundred 
and  ninety-six  cells,  are  used  for  the  confinement  of  but  two  hundred  and 
eighty-eight,  a  large  proportion  of  whom  are  Chinese,  who  seldom 
attempt  escapes. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  unfitness  of  the  new  brick  buildings  for 
the  uses  for  which  they  were  designed  renders  the  crowding  of  the 
worst  class  of  convicts  into  the  secure  cells  and  rooms  of  the  old  build- 
ing ^and/prevents  that  classification  and  separation  of  prisoners  so 
desirable  in  carrying  out  reformatory  measures.  Your  Committee  have 
had  propositions  submitted  for  their  consideration  with  reference  to  the 
establishment  of  a  branch  prison  at  the  granite  quarries  owned  by  the 
I^atoma  Land  Company. 

The  owners  propose  to  cede  to  the  State  a  site  for  a  prison,  with  inex- 
haustible quarries  and  sufficient  land  for  cultivation,  in  consideration  of 
the  sum  of  fifteen  thousand  dollars,  to  be  paid  for  in  convict  labor.  This 
location  we  regard  as  a  desirable  one  for  this  purpose,  being  connected 
by  the  company's  road  with  the  Sacramento  Valley  Eailroad.  The 
supply  of  water  is  abundant  for  the  most  extensive  manufacturing  pur- 
poses, and  the  labor  of  the  prisoners  in  working  the  quarries,  it  is  claimed, 
would  always  yield  a  profitable  return  to  the  State.  It  is  a  question 
whether  the  diversion  of  one  hundred  convicts  would  not  at  the  same 
time  relieve  the  old  prison,  and  such  labor  be  profitably  employed  in 
laying  the  foundation  for  a  new  and  permanent  one.  The  last  report  of 
the  Board  of  Prison  Directors  shows  that  on  the  first  day  of  November, 
eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-seven,  there  were  fifty-one  prisoners  under 
sentence  for  one  year,  and  one  hundred  for  two  years.  Two  hundred 
and  twenty-one  were  twenty-five  years  old  or  less ;  sixty-six  had  not 
reached  the  age  of  twenty,  and  one  was  but  sixteen  years  old.  Five 
hundred  and  sixty-four  were  serving  out  their  first  term,  many  of  them 
for  their  first  offence  against  the  law.  When  we  consider  the  fact  that 
in  the  same  institution  there  are  many  who  have  grown  old  and  are 
hardened  in  crime,  some  of  them  serving  out  their  fourth  or  fifth  terms, 
some  means  of  separating  these  classes  becomes  a  matter  of  serious 
importance.  We  call  attention  to  the  recommendations  of  Governor 
Low,  in  his  last  Biennial  Message,  upon  this  subject.  The  workshops 
are  in  a  dilapidated  condition.  Originally  badly  designed  and  poorly 
built,  they  are  totally  unsuited  to  the  profitable  employment  of  prison 
labor.  The  evidence  of  the  contractors  and  the  officers  of  the  prison  is 
to  the  effect  that  the  erection  of  new  shops  would  largely  increase  the 
value  of  the  privileges.  The  principal  contractors  testify  that  with 
convenient  shops  and  store  rooms,  they  would  employ  one-third  more 
labor  at  an  advanced  rate  of  wages.  In  other  words,  give  the  con- 
tractors sufficient  room,  so  arranged  that  they  can  supervise  and  control 
the  force  employed  by  them,  and  they  will  employ  from  one-third  to 
one-half  more  labor,  at  fifty  cents  per  day  instead  of  thirty. 

The  increase  of  prisoners  and  constant  enlargement  of  manufacturing 
pursuits  within  the  prison  necessitates  the  erection  of  new  buildings 
adapted  for  the  purpose.     In  this  connection,  your  Committee  remark 


that  there  is  a  great  necessity  for  an  increased  supply  of  water  for  the 
proper  cleansing  of  the  cells  and  grounds  of  the  prison,  as  well  as  for 
manufacturing  purposes.  Measures  should  be  taken,  in  connection  with 
the  erection  of  new  workshops,  to  procure  an  additional  supply  of  water 
for  all  purposes  in  connection  with  the  prison.  To  accomplish  this, 
your  Committee  recommend  the  levy  of  a  tax  of  five  per  cent,  on  each 
one  hundred  dollars  of  taxable  property  in  the  State  to  create  a  fund 
for  the  erection  of  new  workshops  and  the  obtaining  of  a  sufficient 
supply  of  water. 

The  prisoners  are  not  properly  fed.  In  making  this  statement  your 
Committee  intend  no  reflection  upon  the  ofl&cers  in  charge.  No  fault  is 
found  with  the  quantity  of  food ;  and  it  is  admitted  by  all  witnesses 
examined  that,  with  the  facilities  at  their  command,  the  management 
has  been  admirable.  In  the  erection  of  new  workshops,  the  basement, 
as  in  the  present  building,  would  be  appropriated  for  a  kitchen;  and  this 
should  be  designed  and  arranged  to  provide  for  the  proper  cooking  of 
the  food.  At  present,  everything  is  boiled;  and  it  is  in  evidence  before 
us  that  the  prisoner  in  charge  of  the  kitchen  has  been  in  the  habit  of 
skimming  the  fat  from  the  boiled  meat  and  afterward  selling  the  same 
to  such  prisoners  as  were  able  to  purchase  from  him. 

One  of  the  prominent  evils  of  the  present  management  your  Com- 
mittee believe  to  be  the  system  of  traffic  in  operation  at  the  prison. 
Prisoners  are  engaged  in  selling  to  their  fellow-convicts  such  articles  as 
are  in  demand,  the  business  being  done  under  the  superintendence  of  one 
of  the  officers,  through  whom  the  supplies  are  chiefly  purchased.  This 
gives  ample  opportunity  for  those  who  have  gained  considerable  skill  as 
mechanics  to  supply  themselves  with  all  needed  comforts  independently  of 
the  prison  fare.  And  as  the  skill  mentioned  is  generally  possessed  by  old 
and  habitual  off'enders,  a  discrimination  is  established  in  favor  of  those 
least  entitled  to  the  same,  and  against  the  most  deserving. 

One  convict,  having  charge  of  a  portion  of  the  prison  stores,  is  allowed 
to  trade  in  the  same  kind  of  articles  as  those  intrusted  to  him. 

Another  evil,  directly  connected  with  the  last-mentioned,  is  the  permit- 
ting the  convicts  to  cook  for  themselves. 

This  promiscuous  cooking  in  the  shops  and  in  the  yard,  and  promis- 
cuous mingling  of  prisoners,  is,  in  the  opinion  of  your  committee,  entirely 
wrong.  The  cooking  and  ration,  as  heretofore  recommended,  should  be 
fixed  by  law,  and,  if  necessary,  additional  guards  should  be  employed  in 
the  yard  to  prevent  the  assembling  of,  and  free  intercourse  between, 
convicts. 

Many  of  the  positions  about  the  prison,  involving  som6  degree  of  trust 
and  responsibility,  are  filled  by  convicts.  This,  under  present  circum- 
stances, seems  to  be  necessary  for  the  safety  of  the  prison,  but  the  state 
of  things  requiring  it  should  be  remedied  as  soon  as  possible. 

Your  Committee  submit,  that  in  the  short  time  allotted  to  them,  a 
satisfactory  report  of  the  complicated  financial  accounts  of  the  institution 
is  simply  impossible.  In  the  performance  of  this  duty,  a  committee 
should  have  full  power  and  ample  time  to  make  a  minute  and  unlimited 
investigation.  This  duty  might  be  eff'ectually  performed  by  the  com- 
mittee hereinafter  recommended  to  be  appointed  by  the  Governor. 

Your  Committee  recommend  that  the  ration  should  be  fixed  and 
established  by  law,  and  the  kitchen  placed  under  the  direction  of  a  free 
man. 

Your  Committee  find,  in  their  investigations,  that  gambling  is  prac- 
ticed by  the  prisoners  to  a  considerable  extent.     This  evil  originates,  we 


believe,  in  the  custom  of  permitting  the  prisoners,  without  restraint,  the 
earnings  received  from  contractors  for  overwork.  Some  idea  of  the 
magnitude  of  this  evil  may  be  gathered  from  the  statement  of  one  of 
the  contractors  examined,  who  testified  that  he  had  paid  forty-five  hun- 
dred dollars  for  overwork  and  in  weekly  stipends  to  the  men  employed 
by  him  in  one  year. 

Your  Committee  believe  that  a  regulation  should  be  adopted  requiring 
the  greater  amount  of  each  convict's  earnings  for  such  overwork  to  be 
deposited  with  the  Warden,  and  reserved  for  his  discharge,  allowing  a 
small  portion  to  be  used  for  any  proper  purpose.  The  enforcement  of 
such  a  regulation  would  effectually  break  up  the  gambling  evil,  and 
would  be  of  great  benefit  to  discharged  prisoners. 

In  the  matter  of  prison  discipline,  your  Committee  examined  several 
witnesses — among  others,  the  Visiting  Physician.  The  testimony  shows 
that  the  system  of  flogging  is  practiced  as  a  mode  of  punishment.  And 
although  the  testimony  of  the  Physician,  and  all  the  officers  of  the 
prison  examined,  was  unanimous  in  sustaining  the  necessity  of  this  mode 
of  punishment,  with  the  present  facilities  for  confining  and  guarding  the 
prisoners — and  the  Physician  also  testifies  that  no  case  of  severe  flog- 
ging has  come  to  his  knowledge  for  several  years — yet  your  Committee 
regard  it  as  the  relic  of  a  barbarous  age,  and  a  practice  that  should  be 
abolished  and  some  mode  adopted  more  in  accordance  with  the  usages 
of  modern  discipline,  that  the  prison  may  be,  as  it  shoukl  be  in  some 
measure,  a  reformatory  institution. 

Your  Committee  recommend  the  appointment  of  a  Chaplain,  believing, 
if  the  proper  person  be  appointed,  such  an  officer  would  be  of  great  ben- 
efit in  carrying  out  such  reformatory  measures  as  may  be  attempted. 

They  also  recommend  an  appropriation  of  five  hundred  dollars  ($500) 
for  the  increase  of  the  Prison  Library,  said  amount  to  be  expended  in  the 
purchase  of  suitable  books  by  the  Chaplain  of  the  prison,  under  the 
supervision  of  the  Directors.  The  library  at  present  consists  of  a  small 
collection  of  books,  valued  in  the  inventory  of  prison  property  at  one 
hundred  and  eighty  dollars  ($180). 

The  present  commutation  law  has  worked  so  well  as  a  means  of  disci- 
pline that  we  recommend  an  extension  of  its  provisions  so  as  to  allow  to 
a  convict,  for  constant  good  behavior,  an  increase  of  commutation  in 
accordance  with  the  length  of  his  sentence.  The  law  has  been  fairly 
tried  in  other  States,  and  has,  we  believe,  received  universal  commenda- 
tion. 

Your  Committee  have  had  their  attention  called  to  a  matter  that  has 
been  presented  in  the  last  Biennial  Message  of  the  G-overnor  and  in  the 
report  of  the  Board  of  Prison  Directors.  There  are  many  men  confined 
at  the  prison  who  have  been  sentenced  for  longer  terms  than  the  crime 
committed  would  seem  to  warrant.  The  disparity  in  sentences  for  the 
same  crime  by  different  Courts  is  an  evil  for  which  there  seems  no  rem- 
edy. Many  of  these  cases  deserve  investigation.  It  is  conceded  that 
the  Executive  has  not  time,  in  the  multiplicity  of  his  official  duties,  to 
make  this  investigation. 

In  connection  with  this  subject,  your  Committee  beg 'leave  to  submit 
that  if  the  many  reforms  in  prison  matters  deemed  necessary  and  recom- 
mended by  them  in  their  report  should  receive  the  sanction  of  the 
Assembly,  the  Governor  should  be  authorized  to  appoint  a  commission, 
with  authority  to  make  this  investigation  and  sort  out  from  the  seven 
hundred  prisoners  all  whose  crimes  have  been  adequately  punished,  or 
whose  faithful  labor  and  uniform  good  conduct  give  assurance  of  the  sin- 


f 


cerity  of  repentence.     The  recommendation  of  said  commission  to  the 
Executive  would  be  his  warrant  upon  which  to  grant  pardons. 

This  commission  should  also  be  authorized  to  visit  any  jail,  prison  or 
other  house  of  detention  in  the  State  to  collect  information  upon  which 
to  base  a  prison  system,  and  submit  the  same  to  the  next  Legislature, 
with  such  suggestions  and  recommendations  as  may  be  necessary  for  the 
correction  of  the  evils  complained  of  To  this  commission  might  also  be 
intrusted  the  designing  and  superintendence  of  the  erection  of  the  new 
buildings  for  workshops. 

Your  Committee  examined  the  armory  and  found  some  twenty  of  the 
yagers  in  bad  condition.  They  should  be  disposed  of  at  once  and 
Henry's  rifles  substituted. 

The  net  indebtedness  of  the  prison,  December  thirty-first,  eighteen 
hundred  and  sixty-seven,  was  thirty-four  thousand  one  hundred  and 
eighty-four  dollars  and  ninety-five  cents.  The  deficiency  for  the  six 
months  ending  July  first,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-eight,  will  amount 
to  about  forty  thousand  dollars.  And  your  Committee  recommend  an 
appropriation  of  seventy-four  thousand  one  hundred  and  eighty-four 
dollars  and  ninety-five  cents  to  pay  such  indebtedness  and  meet  the 
deficiency. 

The  Board  of  State  Prison  Directors  estimate  the  appropriation 
necessary  for  the  two  years  ending  July  first,  eighteen  hundred  and 
seventy,  at  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars;  and  as  there  is  no 
good  reason  to  anticipate  a  decrease  in  the  number  of  prisoners  for  that 
period,  that  amount  will  probably  be  required. 

J.  C.  CKIGLER, 
Chairman  of  Assembly  Committee; 

J.  J.  GREEN, 
Chairman  of  Senate  Committee. 

Sacramento  City,  February  14th,  1868. 


Syracuse.  N  Y. 
PAT.  JAN.  21.  1808 


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